Thursday, July 21, 2005

Mike Brey picked up his first verbal committment of the 2006 recruiting class when Indiana power forward Luke Harangody decided to attend Notre Dame over Purdue and Indiana.

“In the end, I felt Notre Dame was the right decision,” Harangody said.

Harangody said he could see playing time right away. He doesn’t expect to redshirt.

“Coach Brey said I could step in and get some playing time,” Harangody said. “I think I can bring my toughness, and I think I can rebound.”

Harangody is a 6'7", 250lb widebody who will add a much needed physical presence on the low post. For those tired of watching the Irish get out-rebounded, Harangody is your man. As a junior, Harangody averaged 23.5 points per game, 12.3 rebounds, and shot 66 percent from the floor as he led his high school team to the regional finals in Indiana. Harangody then hit the AAU circuit and saw his stock steadily rise. He outplayed higher-ranked kids as he took his team, the SYF Players, to the finals of the prestigious Kingwood Classic AAU tournament in Houston, Texas and later captured the AAU state title in Indiana. He was also named to the Indiana Junior All-Star team that played against the Senior All-Star team (featuring Luke Zeller).

As far as star rankings and all that jazz, Scout.com lists Harangody as a 4-star player, the 52nd overall player in the class of 2006, and the 8th best center/power forward.

Personally, when I read accolades like "throwback player" and "meat and potatoes guy", it sounds like we just landed a football tight end in baggy shorts. You know, someone who will do the dirty work, set the slobberknocker picks at midcourt, be a "team" guy, but not much of a scoring threat. I think I read where Harangody is Hungarian for "box out".

Well, I decided to check out the ample video of Luke in various AAU tournaments and the Indiana All-Star games, and I must say that I was surprised at his mid-range shot and how quick on his feet he looked. He even knocked down a few threes. I don't want to turn into Tom Lemming here, so I'll just sum it up by saying that while Harangody's calling card should be his rebounding, he looks to have some pretty good offensive skills as well.

If you want to check him out in action and have subscriptions to rivals.com and/or scout.com, you can watch him here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. In the last three, he's #4 in the red jersey (Luke Zeller is #1, in the white jersey.)

One last testimonial from a coach who watched him play in the Kingwood AAU Classic:

“You could shoot him twice and he’s still going to the basket to score and you can’t stop him.”

And that's a good thing, now that Cincinnati has entered the Big East.